Growing up in the UK in the 70s and 80s, Black Forest gateaux was one of the classic, tried and tested dessert cakes that would crop up everywhere. Being a fussy little pre-Crafty, the lure of the chocolate wasn't strong enough to overcome an aversion to the sharp tang that the layer of cherries created.
Here, the beer of the same name doesn't feature any fruit at all, but it does feature a chocolatey stout and some cacao nibs. Yet it too has cherry and dark berry characters. Stu Grant achieved this by blending a chocolate led stout with an older, funky barrel-aged stout, with the sour tartness of the latter creating the impression of the acidic fruit.
In the glass, it presents a dense wall of black, with the chocolate and some sharp roastiness joined by a tart cherry tang (that we're told has been building in impact as the beer gets older) that gives the otherwise malt dominated, chocolate led beer an underlying acidic base.
Published July 1, 2016 2016-07-01 00:00:00
